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There is a story told by Henry
Lewin about a time in the Second World War in which a Lutheran
bishop was imprisoned by a German concentration camp and was tortured
by an SS officer who wanted to force him into a confession.
In a small room, the two men sat face to face. the one afflicting
the other with increasing pain, the bishop who had a remarkable
tolerance for pain did not respond to the torture. And his silence
seemed to enrage the officer more and more to such a degree
that he would hit the victim, this Lutheran bishop, more, harder
and harder until the SS officer finally exploded and shouted
at his victim, but don't you know that I can kill you? The bishop looked into the eyes
of the SS officer and said slowly to him, yes, I know, do whatever
you want to me, and I have already died. At that moment the SS officer
could no longer raise his arm and lost power over his victim.
It was as if he were paralyzed, no longer able to touch the Lutheran
pastor. All his cruelties had been based
on the supposition that this man, this pastor, would hold
on to his life as to his most valuable property and would be
quite willing to give his confession in exchange for his life. With
the grounds of his violence gone, the torture had become a ridiculous
and futile activity. One of my professors from Dallas
Seminary says, death must become a major focus in all of living,
for if we are not prepared to die while we live, we never really
live effectively at all. I'd like to direct your attention
to Philippians chapter 1, verses 21 through 26, for here we find
the Apostle Paul addressing the subject, the subject which is
so anathema in our society today, the subject of death. And again,
to repeat what Haddon Robinson has said, death must become a
major focus in all of living. If we are not prepared to die
while we live, we never really live effectively at all. In Philippians chapter 1 verses
21 to 26, we find as we approach this passage that Paul writes
a verse beginning in verse 21, for to me to live is Christ and
to die is gain. And immediately as we enter into
this passage, which Paul has written to his friends in Philippi,
we're faced with what is known as a transition. The little word
for sort of swings like the hinge on a door. It allows us to and
requires us to look backward at what has preceded what Paul
is writing now. And it also points us forward
to what Paul will be writing about in the upcoming passages. So I say it's a transition verse
and it summarizes for us and resolves what Paul had spoken
about previously and then directs us forward. And it reminds us
to look backward. As I say in the preceding paragraph,
we see that the issue that Paul has summarized was what was his
condition there in Rome, his condition in prison, for which
the Philippians would have been concerned. Knowing what kind
of reception he had received in their own city, they would
have been concerned for the effectiveness, indeed his personal safety, there
in Rome as a result. But then this verse also points
forward, and notice that Paul rejoices because he is expectant
that whatever happens to him is going to be for good. And
so this verse swings us forward and shows us that in the prospective
eye of Paul he is expecting that the results that he has seen
in Rome will continue on in his life regardless of whether he
lives or dies. And as distant readers of Paul's
letter here to the Philippians now several hundreds of years
later, as we look at what Paul has written to the Philippians,
I think it's important for us to ask why and how it was that
Paul was able to maintain such a consistency and such a commitment
to this philosophy of life that he writes here in verse 21, for
me to live. as Christ and to die is gain. I think it's important as we
begin to look at where the tenacity and the power came from in his
life for holding on to this conviction. First of all, I think we need
to look a little bit at some of his own background. You may
recall in the ninth chapter of Acts, the conversion of Paul. He was traveling along the Damascus
Road. He was involved in going after
and tracking down Christians in that time in Syria. And along
the Damascus Road, a vision confronted him of the resurrected Jesus
Christ and challenged Paul with what he was doing and so affected
him that his whole life was turned from going in this direction
all the way to going in a new direction, from persecuting Jesus
Christ and his followers to reaching out to the world on behalf of
Jesus Christ. But not only did Paul have a
remarkable encounter with the Lord Jesus at the beginning of
his spiritual life, He also writes to the Corinthians about an event
that took place several years after his conversion. And that
was an event that probably was fairly unique to Paul. We only
find it in the life of the Apostle John, actually described in the
scriptures. But Paul says in 2 Corinthians
12 that he had an experience of being caught up to the third
heaven. Now he even admits that he does not know whether he was
actually there physically or whether it was simply a spiritual
vision that he received, but nevertheless he says that in
that experience he heard things that were so amazing and so profound,
but they were things that he was not allowed or permitted
to repeat. And so, for Paul, he was not
one who spoke of the things of the other world glibly. He was
one who had had a very powerful impact, not only with one who
had come back from the dead personally, but also with the experience
of the place of new life for those who had passed on. But
not only had he had these experiences, we have to remember by the time
he is writing the epistle to the Philippians, Paul has gone
through a tremendous life of suffering. Indeed, one commentator
has said, after years of suffering and then in bonds in Rome, Paul
writes the letter to the Philippians. Yet, as you read this letter,
something is very striking about the tone in which Paul writes. A life of hardship, a life of
suffering, and yet in the tone of the book of Philippians we
read of no regrets, we read no bitterness toward the Savior
for all of his hardships, we read of no complaints and we
read of no weariness. And this was no sentimental romantic
assertion that Paul was making here in verse 21. For to Paul
this was the business of his life and indeed the experience
of his life qualified him to speak very authoritatively about
it. And so again I ask the question
of myself and as I read Paul's letter here in these comments
in verses 21 to 26, how Paul, how was it that you were so tenaciously
and consistently able to hold on to this philosophy that for
you to live was for you to live was Christ and to die would be
gain. It seems to me the answer that comes back to me from Paul
and from this book, the answer that I'm convinced of was that
both life and death afforded Paul the opportunity for magnifying
and exalting Jesus Christ. Whether he were to live on or
whether he were to die, either way he was convinced through
his life and through his understanding of Jesus Christ that he could
magnify the Lord Jesus Christ through his body. And so this
brings me to Paul's philosophy of life. Paul's philosophy of
life I'm going to look at in two ways. First of all his philosophy
for living and then also his philosophy for dying. And if
you notice with me first of all Paul speaks of the prospect of
living when he says in verse 21, to me, and he is of course
referring to himself personally, to me, living is Christ. For Paul, living meant devoting
his attention, his priorities, his resources, his energies,
his time, his plans, and his work. all to the glory of Jesus
Christ, all to the purpose of exalting Jesus Christ as the
Lord. And so it seems to me the one
controlling question that Paul asked of himself moment by moment
of any activity, of anything he would say, any relationship
he would enter into, any work he would apply himself to, how
will this bring glory and honor to Jesus Christ? Actually, it
seems to me that Philippians 121 is a summary of what is commonly
and popularly and appropriately called the spirit-filled life
today. And so if you were to paraphrase
Paul's statement, for me to live is Christ, you might say Paul
is claiming that for him it is the spirit-controlled life that
is what it's all about. And when we hear someone being
called a spirit-filled believer, we understand the number of things
should be true. And of course, these would be
things that we would find true of Paul, and should be true of
those of us who aspire to be controlled by the Spirit. Those
who aspire to be living a life that is for Christ. We would
expect in the spirit-filled life that we would find an openness
to testifying and acknowledging and identifying with Jesus Christ
as Savior and Lord. Not only that, we would expect
in a spirit-filled Christian to find the exhibition of spiritual
fruit or the evidence of the fact that the Spirit of God actually
lives inside of me. And that evidence Paul calls
in Galatians chapter 5 such things as love. such things as joy,
we'd expect to find peace, we'd expect to find other fruits of
the Spirit, such as patience, and goodness, and kindness, and
gentleness, and self-control. These are all the evidences in
a person's way of being, way of living, that there is something
of God, the presence of His Spirit, inside that person's life. Each
one of these virtues will in some measure I believe, find
expression in the life of the person who's asking the question,
is what I'm doing, is what I'm saying, glorifying to Jesus Christ. But not only will we expect to
find an open confession of Jesus Christ and spiritual attitudes
and ways of living, but it seems to me we'll also find in a person
who would be living for Christ, living the spirit-controlled
life, we would also find a third evidence of spiritual life, and
that is the characteristic best described, I think, as reproduction. Spiritual reproduction. And if you look at the life of
a person who is filled with the spirit, who is controlled by
the spirit, their life will impact on those around them, those in
their sphere of influence, so that those around them will find
in their own lives either an acknowledgement of Jesus Christ
or a rejection. And so that the life that is
being lived by the spiritual believer brings to those around
them a challenge. And that challenge is, will we
accept or will we reject the kind of life and the Lord that
is being lived for in the sight of this spirit-filled believer.
Look at verse 22. Paul says, if I am to go on living
in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Notice, fruitful
labor? Paul's complete expectation is
that just as he has experienced success there in Rome under the
help of God, that his whole life, if it continues, will be a life
bound up in producing fruitful results. Others will experience,
as a result of the impact of his life, the fruit of the Spirit.
Others will come to embrace Jesus as their personal Savior, too.
I think he reasons that if God's plan for him is to continue in
the body, as he says, it will mean the opportunity for further
labor and seeing fruit in others' lives. And for Paul, any extension
of his life meant an opportunity for planting another church,
an opportunity for sharing about the grace of God, the love of
God to another soul, and further strengthening the churches in
the understanding of the doctrine of life, which was to know Christ. But not only does this concept
or this philosophy of Paul's speak of the character of a person
who is living for Christ. That is, the spirit-filled quality
which expresses these fruits and also results in people coming
to know Jesus in their own lives. But it seems to me that it also
sets before us a challenge. And that challenge is to ask
of ourselves the same question, moment by moment, that Paul asked
of himself. So the question comes to you
and I, what is life for? What is my life for? What is
your life for? Life is either for you and for
me, or it is for Christ. And there really can't be middle
ground. And the challenge of the life of faith is the challenge
of asking this question moment by moment, day by day, and hour
by hour. Who am I living for? Am I living
for me? Is this action for me? Or is this action for Christ?
And constantly qualifying all that I do and all that I am by
that kind of question. That is how the spirit-filled
life is lived. The spirit-filled life is a relationship with God. The spirit-filled life is a quest
for learning and doing what pleases God rather than what pleases
me or maybe pleases my Christian friends. It is an attention to
the vertical. to our relationship with God.
It demands moment by moment communion with God. It demands an interaction
with God, a willingness to hear from him through his word, and
also an ongoing dialogue with him through prayer, as Paul described
it, praying without ceasing. Acknowledging to God our need
for his help. Acknowledging to God that he
knows what is best. And it's an attitude of keeping
myself open. ready to make those adjustments
that the Spirit of God through the Scriptures prompts me to
be making. That is the Spirit-filled life
and that is the challenge for the person who desires that Christ
would be their life. And you can almost see something
of this dynamic, of this dialogue, of this challenge within Paul's
words as you look at the end of verse 22 and then in verse
23. He says, If I am to go on living in the
body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet, I do not know
what I should choose. Yet, what shall I choose? I do
not know. I am torn between the two. I desire to depart and be with
Christ, which is far better. And then he acknowledges that
it's much better though that he remain with the Philippians.
So even in Paul's discussion here, you can get a flavor, a
tone of somewhat of that a back and forth dynamic, that dialogue
with God. Lord, do I stay? Lord, can I stay? Lord, can I
go home? And yet always asking the question,
what will glorify you the most? What allows the spirit to have
the most control and use of my life? And so that is the challenge. of living as Christ. But not
only does the Christian philosophy of life speak to the process
of living, it also speaks to the dynamic of dying. And this
is what Paul speaks of again as he repeats this philosophy.
And he says, for me to live as Christ, to die as gain. Paul
complements his initial statement of living with this corollary
of dying He would, it seems to me, his death would accomplish
in his own mind an exaltation. Just as he speaks in verse 20,
he says, I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be
ashamed but will have sufficient courage so that now as always
Christ will be exalted in my body. It was Paul's conviction
that even in death he could exalt the Lord Jesus Christ. And so
I think that there is a gain here that Paul is speaking of.
When he speaks of dying, he says, to die is gain. And he says that
there would be a gain for me, not only publicly, but also personally. And I'd like to just point those
things out to you briefly. First of all, a Christian's death
should have a positive impact for Christ in public. that what Paul had said earlier
concerning his condition was that it was his concern that
he would have sufficient strength and courage regardless of whether
he was martyred or not to stand fast for his testimony to Jesus
Christ. It seems to me that Paul, as
an apostle, felt that his martyrdom would magnify the supreme power
of the love of Jesus Christ to control one's life even to the
point of death. So that for Paul he was convinced
that he could even die and that as he died his death would command
in other people an amazement that this Jesus whose love was
so powerful could give Paul the confidence to go to death. And
so it seems to me that what we need to ask ourselves is Does
the supreme love of Christ so control us that we are willing
like Paul to say and to believe that even our own personal death
could be a gain? Because it could testify to other
people of what we think of the supremacy of Jesus Christ. What will people say was the
spiritual impact of your life at your funeral. The love of
Christ was so real and compelling as to make Christ's honor more
important for Paul than his life. It also seems as we look at this
passage that Paul not only had a sense of the public gain that
might come from his death or his martyrdom, but also that
there would be a private or personal value to his death or martyrdom. When we read of Paul's conviction
that death would be gained It reminds us that for Paul, he
was speaking from a personal condition where death would mean
the removal from suffering. It would lift him from prison
to the presence of Christ. It would give him heaven for
earth. It would give him enjoyment for labor. It would give him
spiritual perfection in the place of wrestling against sin. And
he would pass from self-denial and tears into the joy of his
Lord. So it's very easy for me to see
how Paul privately would see the prospect of death as a greater
gain than the prospect of living. And if you look in verse 22,
you notice that Paul even expresses a personal indecision between
living and dying. He says, I do not know what to
choose. And so even for Paul, you can
see instantly his dilemma of what would be better. Now, in
terms of Paul's view of what takes place when one dies, it
seems that he takes it beyond simply stating an overall philosophy
of what our attitude should be to death, and he goes even further
in describing what death is all about. And that is how he concludes
this passage, and he takes us down through verse 26 from verse
23. The indecision that Paul expressed
in verse 22, yet I do not know what to choose, further expressed
his frame of mind. And you notice in verse 23 that
he says, I am torn between the two. So you find in this tone
that he expresses the feeling of there being a pressure building
up in his life under his circumstances. A pressure between his private
desire to go on home, to leave and a sense of obligation to
stay and to serve. And his personal desire seems
to be overtaken by his acknowledgement and recognition of his public
responsibility. And so here in a most succinct
form in verse 23, we find described Paul's understanding of what
death is. He says, I have a desire to depart
and be with Christ. So on the one hand he saw death
as what he would call a departing. This is a very familiar word
to the ancient Greeks and to the Romans because this was a
word that was used when a ship would launch out to sea they
would raise the anchor and when a guest would leave your home
after having dinner they would go through this departing. But
the most popular use of this phrase or this figure of speech
was when an army or caravan was breaking camp. They, as they
would depart, would pull up the stakes, fold up the tents, load
up the animals, and then they would depart from their camp.
And so this is why in 2 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 4, Paul, as he
speaks about death, he speaks of it as a holding up of this
earthly tent. And of course we know from what
Jesus said, in John chapter 4 and John chapter 14 he has gone ahead
to build for us a mansion or a house much greater than any
earthly tent that we might have here. In a similar way Paul also in
other passages such as 1 Corinthians chapter 15 and 1 Thessalonians
chapter 4 and Acts chapter 7 speaks of death as being the sleeping
of the body. basically a separation of the
soul and the spirit from the body until the body is resurrected
to be rejoined with the soul and the spirit in eternity. And
so Paul says on the one hand death is a departure and for
the body it is like sleep. But he says furthermore that
this departure is for a purpose. We depart in order that we can
arrive. And this is what he is speaking
of, the arrival, when he says, I am torn between the two, I
desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. And in that one little phrase,
be with Christ, he speaks of the idea of arrival. So he says
in verse 23, he has the desire to depart and be with Christ,
but this departure is like the threshold. It is the way of coming
to the arrival. It is the doorway into heaven.
This condition of being in the presence of Christ was what Jesus
described to the thief on the cross. He said, this day, you
will be with me in paradise. And again, as I said in John
chapter 14, Jesus spoke of preparing a place, a much better place,
in order that his disciples could be with him. And so death, from the point
of view of the Apostle Paul, and from the point of view of
Christian theology, is a departure, and it is an arrival. It is a
departure from something temporal to something permanent, something
better. And this is why Paul says, for
me, to live is Christ, but to die is gain. It is far much better,
he says, that I would pass on. and yet a sense of his apostolic
mission. His apostolic mandate was that
there was more work to be done. And so he acknowledges to the
Philippians in verse 24, it is more necessary for you that I
remain on in the body. And his desire, his personal
desire is controlled by the needs of his friends. Convinced of
this, he says in verse 25, I know that I will remain. And I will
continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the
faith, so that through my being with you again, your joy in Christ
Jesus will overflow on account of me." And so we have seen in
a nutshell what Paul's philosophy of life and his philosophy of
death is. And as I have sort of thought
about this passage, It reminds me of how it seems
like all through the news media and all through political discussions
today the whole issue of health care comes to mind. I suspect
that there are a number of you who are connected with that industry
and would be aware of the fact that many insurance companies
are complaining and are having difficulties with the fact that
costs of health care and insurance premiums are skyrocketing. And
of course a lot of this has to do with the fact that there are
skyrocketing costs connected with the amazing technologies
that are available for sustaining life. And in a society where
death is so feared by people, in a post-Christian society like
we live in today, a society that has basically rejected God, there
is this mounting, escalating fear of death because we have
no foundation. The society has no foundation,
no philosophy for living, no philosophy of death as we have
here in the letter to the Philippians. So it seems that more and more
our medical community is being constrained, is being forced
to employ longer and longer life-sustaining technology, more and more expensive. and the cost can be economically
astronomical. But I ask you and I ask myself,
does not a philosophy of life, such as Paul has given us here,
help us have a proper view towards these things that we will encounter
either through our own lives or through our own friends? Does
this not help us have a right perspective when we encounter
this kind of challenge, the challenge of our own health. And in light
of Paul's attitude, I believe as believers in Jesus Christ,
we should not fear death. We should not go out kicking
and screaming. It is not noble for a Christian
to do that, grasping for every last hope that having one more
year One more month, one more day, it seems to me undignified
for the believer in Jesus Christ. And when we come face to face
with death in our life or in the life of a loved one, I think
it's important for us to be careful to employ this philosophy to
govern all of our decisions in these areas. And I cannot tell
you what is the extreme or what is the appropriate. in the use
of such technologies as are available, I simply use that as an illustration
or an example of how important and how contemporary and how
real it is for you to be employing Paul's philosophy of life and
death and to remember that death is actually a departure to something
very much better. The flip side, of course, of
this concern for the astronomical costs and stresses that people
will put themselves through in order to hold on to this life
is also a concern. In light of Paul's attitude,
should we as believers in Jesus Christ fear life? How many people
are saying it would be so much better for this person if they
could die now? But it seems to me that Paul,
sitting in jail, not knowing his prospects, not being in the
most ideal of circumstances would say, that is up to God. So long as I have life, he says,
I can have fruitful labor for Jesus Christ. Even in my attitude,
even in simply my spirit, I can command people to look at Jesus
Christ because he is my hope. And he is my source of confidence.
And he is the one that gives me joy. He is the one that helps
me to overcome the sorrows of the difficult situations. And
we can, I believe, know that as long as God gives us breath,
our mission is not complete. So this is Paul's philosophy,
as I say, of life and death. And I believe it sets before
us a challenge of what spiritual living is all about. and what
God's perspective on life is all about and how we should view
death as a departure to something better, to be with him. Let's close in a word prayer.
Philippians 1:21-26, Life and Death Issues
Series Philippians
| Sermon ID | 51724203158377 |
| Duration | 34:32 |
| Date | |
| Category | Sunday Service |
| Bible Text | Philippians 1:21-26 |
| Language | English |
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